6 Back Workout Exercises for a Toned, Sculpted Back

If there’s one thing Pinterest has made us want lately, it’s a good back. The backless dresses, barely-there tops, and photos from behind are everywhere. You know the one, the woman bent over on a rooftop at night, glass in hand, wearing a backless black dress and showing off a perfectly sculpted back.

A sculpted back just hits differently. It can make a simple backless dress look even better, give your upper body more definition, and, of course, it’s a pretty great reason to stop skipping your back workout.

So if you’ve been saving those back photos on Pinterest, consider this your sign to add more back exercises to your gym routine.

Below are the six best back exercises I’m currently doing for a stronger, more defined back at the gym. And if you want to see the workout in action, you can watch the full back workout routine in the video below.

The Routine

Bent-Over Row
25kg • 4 sets / 10 reps

Face Pull
25kg • 3 sets / 10 reps

Lat Pulldown
25kg per side • 3 sets / 10 reps

Seated Cable Row
30kg • 3 sets / 12 reps

Military Press
15kg • 3 sets / 15 reps

Reverse Fly
20kg • 3 sets / 10 reps

The Move: Bent-Over Row

How to: Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and hold the barbell with both hands. Hinge forward at your hips while keeping your back flat and your core engaged. Pull the bar toward your torso, driving your elbows back and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lower the weight with control and repeat.

The bent-over row is a classic back workout that works several upper-body muscles at once, including the lats, upper back, and biceps.

The Move: Face Pull

How to: Attach a rope or suitable handle to a cable machine around upper-chest or face height. Hold the handle with both hands and step back to create tension in the cable. Pull the handle toward your face with a straight grip, while driving your elbows outward, then slowly return to the starting position.

Face pulls are a great addition to a back-focused workout because they target the upper back and rear shoulders while adding some variety to your pulling movements.

The Move: Lat Pulldown

How to: Sit at the lat pulldown machine and position yourself securely under the pads. Grip the handles and pull them down toward your upper chest while keeping your chest lifted. Focus on driving your elbows down rather than simply pulling with your hands. Slowly release the handles back to the starting position and repeat.

The lat pulldown is one of the most recognizable back workout for targeting the latissimus dorsi, the large muscles that run along the sides of your back.

You May Also Like: 10 Small Waist Exercises to Sculpt an Hourglass Figure

The Move: Seated Cable Row

How to: Sit at the cable row machine with your feet supported and your back upright. Hold the handle with both hands and extend your arms in front of you. Pull the handle toward your torso, keeping your elbows close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Slowly extend your arms again and repeat.

Seated cable rows complement vertical pulling exercises like lat pulldowns by working the back through a horizontal pulling movement.

The Move: Military Press

How to: Stand or sit with the weight positioned around shoulder height. Keep your core engaged and press the weight overhead until your arms are extended without locking out aggressively. Lower the weight back toward your shoulders with control and repeat.

While the military press isn’t a direct back workout, it works the shoulders and triceps and adds an upper-body pushing movement to this otherwise pull-heavy routine.

The Move: Reverse Fly

How to: Sit facing the pec fly machine with your chest against the pad and grip the handles. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, pull the handles outward and backward, bringing your arms in line with your body. Squeeze your upper back and rear shoulders at the end of the movement, then slowly return to the starting position.

The reverse pec fly primarily targets the rear deltoids and upper back, making it a useful addition to a full back workout at the gym.

How Often Should You Do This Back Workout?

You don’t need to train your back every day to see progress. Instead, focus on performing your exercises consistently and gradually challenging yourself as you become stronger.

A back workout can be incorporated into a larger upper-body routine or combined with other strength-training sessions throughout the week.

A good back workout doesn’t have to be complicated. By combining exercises like bent-over rows, face pulls, lat pulldowns, and seated cable rows, you can work your back from different angles while also training other upper-body muscles.

And if you’re curious what this routine actually looks like in the gym, watch my full back workout above and train along with me.